Aug. 1, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Unless Wayne County residents pass a millage in November, the county risks having the state appoint an emergency manager, much like Detroit’s, the chairman of the County Commission said Thursday.

Commissioners soon will debate whether to ask voters for a tax increase after County Executive Robert Ficano’s budget chief said the county faces a $70-million shortfall for next year and is in need of a millage hike.

The county “cannot cut itself out of this budgetary crisis,” according to Ficano’s latest budget message, presented Thursday to the commission’s Ways and Means Committee.

Either a 1-mill or 2-mill measure could appear on November ballots, said Wayne County Chief Financial Officer Carla Sledge. But a 1-mill tax would raise about $37 million, only about half of the expected $70-million deficit, Sledge said.

The full commission will receive Ficano’s recommendation within the next two weeks, she said.

“We have certainly hit some triggers” for starting a financial review by state Treasury officials — the first step toward having an emergency manager, said commission Chairman Gary Woronchak, D-Dearborn, after seeing Sledge’s budget presentation. The millage request comes just when Wayne County’s reputation for fiscal management has hit new lows, making passage of a tax hike likely to be a tough sell with voters, Woronchak said.

“We have a massive public confidence problem and perception problem that leads people to think that if we have a budget problem, it’s because of bloated pensions and bungled projects. While those things don’t help, that’s not really the problem,” he said. The county is considering selling the property where the new county jail is being built.

The larger problem is that property values plummeted during the 2008-09 meltdown nationwide, squeezing tax revenues, Woronchak and others said.

“The county is operating without $125 million (in revenue) that we had before the meltdown,” Ficano spokeswoman June West said.

“Even if all of our homes went back to 2008 values tomorrow, property taxes can only rise at the rate of inflation, so we’re projecting it’ll be 2027 before we’re back to the revenue we had before,” West said.

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The Ficano administration might portray the millage as being needed for public safety, but passage by voters could simply put off needed fiscal restraint, said Commissioner Laura Cox, R-Livonia.

“Even if they sell this as a sheriff’s millage, there’s no way to ensure that this money will go where it’s supposed to go,” Cox said. “They’ll get this new millage and say, ‘Oh, look at this new money for the sheriff. Let’s reduce our regular allocation to the sheriff and put it toward other programs’ because they’re short everywhere,” she said.

Ficano asked commissioners to approve putting a millage on the ballot last year, but the commissioners refused. This year, in a June 21 letter to all commissioners, Ficano said that “this year we have no choice” and must ask voters for a tax hike. Yet, commissioners at Thursday’s meeting said they weren’t getting enough time to consider a millage proposal.

“They need to come back to us with something soon, and be specific,” said Commissioner Burton Leland, D-Detroit.

“If those millage dollars would stop an EM (emergency manager) from coming in, some of us who are on the fence might support this,” Leland said.

The county has tripped at least six of the 18 triggers that start the state’s process for appointing an emergency manager, said Commissioner Tim Killeen, D-Detroit, who also represents the five Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods.

“Is the county in bad financial shape? You bet. Is a millage the way forward? I can’t commit myself until I see (Ficano’s) proposal,” Killeen said.